Improvement in machinery for making rope



HORACE MAXSON, OF HOPKINTON, RHODE ISLAND, AND JOB JOHNSON, OF BROOKLYN,NEW YORK.

Letters Patent No. 63,408, dated April 2, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING ROPE.

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TO ALL WHOM I'l MAY OONOERN:

Be it known that we, ,HORACE MAXSON, of Hopkinton, in the county ,of Washington, and State of Rhode Island, and JOB JOHNSON, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, and Sta-te of New York, have invented andv made a certain new and useful Improvement in Rope-Walks; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the said invention, reference being had to theannexed drawing, making part of this specification, Wherein Figure lis a plan representing the ends of a rope-walk of any desired length, with our improvements applied thereto. g

Figurevis a longitudinal section of the same.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the side of the carriage and driving-pulleys; and

Figure 4 is a similar view of the other side of the carriage; and

Figure 5 is a side view of the pulleys and rope detached.

Similar marks of reference denote the same parts.

In Letters Patent granted to HORACE MAXSON June 4, 1861, a carriage is shown that is used rfor laying up the strands or rope, said carriage being moved along the rope-walk, and the strands being separated, while being twisted, by supports or guides.

The nature of our said invention consists in a reversible head that carries the twisting-spindles, and is moved from one end of the rope-walk to the other, and employed to twist the yarns or strandsas they are drawn oil' the spools,'and then the head is reversed and acts to draw off and twist strands from spools at the other end; thus there is no loss of time in running the head from one end to the other, and the twisting is in proportion to the length of yarn or strands drawn off the spools so as always to be uniform, and the same mechanism employed for twisting the strands may also be used in'laying them together to form the rope. Our apparatus is adapted tdany number of strands or for the production of a rope of any desired size.

In the drawing, a arepresent the end frames carrying spools, b b; c c are side rails, forming a way for the travelling carriage 0l, that sustains the driving-shaft e, upon which are mitre-wheels, e', taking similar wheels, f', and driving the spindlesf, that are sustained within the head g. This reverslble head g is connected by straps to the shaft e, so that it may be swung over or under said shaft in order that the spindles f may be employed to draw olf and twist the strands from either end of the rope-walk. The shaft e is rotated by one, two, or more grooved pulleys at its ends, over which an endless belt or cord passes. The endless cord la extends the entire length of the rope-walk; at one ond it passes over the wheel k, and at the other over the wheel Z on the main shaft m, driven by competent power. The cord or rope .L is endless, and passes in a loop over the wheel '1L so as to rotate the same, while the carriage d is in any position along the rope-walk. If the rope simply passed around the pulley n, there would be a constant chaing and wear of the sides of the rope against each other as they pass. I therefore separate them by the double pulley p, which receives the bight of the rope in two grooves, us seen in fig. 5, so as to avoid wear, or the same object may be attained by the use of two separate pulleys, pp, seen in fig. 4. The strands, as they pass off the spools, go through guide oyes, g, and any desired number of these strands may pass oli` to each of the hooked spindles f. The guide bars 1 allow the strands to lie between them so as to prevent the strands twisting together. I employ the rocking supports s and t, having guide wires, u, or feathers, v, standing up to' keep the strands separate, and also allow of the carringe passing over them, as they are turned down by it and again brought up to place by the springs w, after the carriage d has passed. In order to draw the carriage ol along from end to end of the ropewalk, I employ the rope or cord 2, the ends of which are attached to said carriage, and the rope or cord 2 passes around the pulleys 3, 4, and 5, and the pulleys 6 on the shaft x. To the shaft x we give a rotary movement in either direc= tion by a motion from the shaft m. The shaft m is rotated by belts from the main shaft m, and is connected by belts to two loose pulleys, 'land 8, on the shaft x; the belt to the pulley 7 is straight, that to the pulley 8 'is crossed so as to go in the opposite direction. These'pulleys 7 and 8 are loose on the shaft x, and can be connected therewith by the clutch and lever 9, so that the carriage d will be moved either way, according to which of the pulleys 7 or 8 is connected with the said shaft rv. Ordinary clutch boxes maybe employed to connect the pulley 7 or the pulleySWith the said shaft fr, or friction clutches maybe employed. When the lever` 9 stands'ivertieal, the clutches will be disconnected and the carriage d remain stationary. The ropes hare shown one on each side, 'so as to produce the friction necessary for rotating the pulleys n and shaft e, or, if desired7 two or more ropes may be employed on one or both sides, the pulleys a having grooves corresponding tothe number of the ropes employed, and the grooves in said pulleys n are to be Vshaped, in order that the rope may bend thereinto with as much friction as possible to prevent its slipping upon the said pulley. When this machine is employed for laying the yarns together to forni strands or small ropes, it is only necessary to draw off the yarns from the spools through the tubes q, and twist them at the same time, and when the carriage d has reached farthest from the spools supplying the yarns that are being,r twisted, the strands or small ropes are cut and laid aside, the headg turned over or reversed, and the operation repeated from the other end. When this machine is used for laying up strands or making ropes, the yarns are to he drawn oi` and twisted as before; but when the proper length is drawn o, the travel of the carriage 0l is arrested, as before mentioned, and the twisting continued, after which the strands.

are laid up into a rope bypassing them through a luy-up block or top of any usual character, commencing' at the end distant from the said carriage d, and moving said top towards the said carriage while the twisting of the strands continues. In consequence of the shaft e and mitre gearing boing employed to drive the spindles f, said spindles can all be placed on the same line, instead of being placed in the arc of a circle, as heretofore usual when driven by a gear-Wheel, and we can increase'the number of spindles to whatever extent is required.

What We claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The travelling carriage d, carrying the reversible heady and 4spindles f, in combination with spools b, supplying yarn at each end. of the rope-walk, as and for the purposes set forth. 2. We claim the shaft e and mitre gearing in combination with the'spindies fand carriage d, for twisting the strands in a rope-walk, as and for the purposes set forth.

3. We claim the endless rope 7L and pulley n, applied in the manner set forth, in combination with the travelling carriage el and spindlesf, substantially as specified.'

4. 'We claim the pulleys 3, 4, 5, and 6, and ropes or belts and shaft rv, in combination with the clutch lever 9, and pulleys 7 and 8, for moving the carriage CZ in either direction, or allowing it to remain stationary, as and for the purposes specified.

5. We claim the supports (s or t) fitted to rock or turn down, in combination with the travelling carriage a'l:

and reversible head g, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In witness whereof We have hereunto set our signatures this fourteenth day of September, A. D. 1866. HORACE MAXSON,

JOB JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

Guns. H. SMITH, Gsoncn T. Prisonnier. 

